Star Fox 64
Reviewed by Brian Stelter
And you thought Super Mario 64 was good. I came out of playing Star Fox
64 like I was coming out of Honey I Shrunk the Audience at EPCOT. It was
a feeling like I was in the game - well, not exactly - more like I was a
little too close for comfort to the action. In Honey I Shrunk The Audience,
you feel the gust of wind - In Star Fox 64's case, it was that I felt the
explosions. My 2 brothers and one of my brother's friends have helped
me with the review - in fact, they are upstairs playing it as I type. I
think they're around the 6th mission. The game, as if you didn't know,
is a 3D shooter. You become Fox McCloud, and you are out to defeat
Andross. But we all know that. So how is the GAME? "Great." "Awesome."
"Cool." "The ultimate game."
I was in Wal-Mart on Thursday the 3rd when I strolled into the
Electronics Dept. Curious to know if Star Fox 64 was in, I looked
around the N64 area. No game running, no sign of Star Fox. So, I
asked an employee if the game was in. And lucky me! There were 6
left. Being 11 years old, I quickly ran to my mom and begged her to
get it for me and my brothers. Lucky me again! My brother was sick,
and it was his birthday, so my mom wanted something for him to
do. Well, guess what: 3 minutes later, in my hands was the game.
That's right: THE game. Of course, I'll be doing extra chores for a
good while - $59.99!!! - but that's just fine. I have THE game!
So I get home. I plug in the Rumble Pak - Thank goodness for that
gift from heaven - and get ready to play. Yeah, we have a new dog,
just got him - but who cares? I have Star Fox 64! I turn on my TV,
turn on the N64, and there it is: Star Fox, Peppy, Slippy, and Falco. Yahoo!
The Rumble Pak: It makes the game 100% better. No
exaggeration. And better yet: It was free and it is compatible
with 17 + games! You can buy it stand-alone on August 25, but
who wants to do that? Just get Star Fox 64! BTW, if you're looking
for a second Pak, try the "Force Pak" - Mad Catz is coming out with
it, a cheaper version of the Rumble Pak, sometime in July.
The Voice: 700 + sound clips! And it only took about 2 months
to get it ready for the US - recording over 700 sound clips again.
Not to mention all the text! Did'ja know that 32 of the 96 megabytes
the game takes up are used just for voice!
Comments From The Peanut Gallery: I asked my 2 brothers -
Jason and Kevin - and Jason's brother, Frank, what they thought of
the game. Here are their comments: "The Rumble Pak makes it better."
"The best game I've ever played. Better than Star Wars, Mario 64, or
Mario Kart 64." "The flying is the best. Maneuvering. I like to hover the
tank."
Graphics: Astounding. Just amazing. Better than Mario. Better
than Wave Race. Better than Turok. Just absolutely marvelous!
Now, To Gripe: There is one problem with this game. And
JUST one. You have to play through the whole game to get to the
last level! Unlike Mario 64, where once you had beaten it once,
you could enter any room that you wanted whenever you wanted,
in Star Fox 64, you have to start at Mission #1. The only save
feature is to save high scores. But, hey, it's still a great game!
Overall: I give the game 9.7 out of 10. Why? The game is
superior in so many ways. If this is what the N64 can do, then I
am sure I'll be buying many more games in the future.